Recipe: Measi's Chili

[measi]

(per a request for good chili recipes by bafleyanne)

I've been making a variation of this recipe since my early teens. The Italian sausage and ginger are the most recent additions, and both my husband and I agree that it's greatly improved the flavor. This definitely is a recipe that you can play with.

This serves about 6-8 people, and like most good chili recipes, tastes even better 2nd day. It can freeze for up to a month, and I've substituted turkey and buffalo for the ground beef - both come out excellent.

2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground hot Italian sausage (w/o casing)
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
2 15oz cans kidney beans (or preferred type)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons whole cumin
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
salt to taste
additional chili powder to taste
1 dash Indian chili powder (Optional)
grated cheddar cheese (Optional)

Brown beef with onions, chili powder, and minced garlic until no pink remains in the meat and the onions are clear. Drain if desired/needed, and add to chili pot. Brown sausage and add to pot. Then add in all other ingredients to pot and stir thoroughly. Do a quick taste test for spice and flavors - add more chili powder, salt, ginger, etc. as desired. (we add the Indian chili powder here). Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer and cook for 60-90 minutes (or until people are too impatient), stirring well every 15 minutes.

Serve in bowls with grated cheese for garnish.

Comments

re: chili madness!

[iolausian.livejournal.com]

How spicy on a scale of like eh...1-10 is this? I love chili but most of the time it's too hot for me:)

luv jackie

Re: chili madness!

[measi.livejournal.com]

That's tough to say, because everyone has different relative points for spice and what they consider "hot." I don't consider this hot at all - it has some nice flavors and an undercurrent of heat, but I'm sure someone from Texas, for example, would consider it downright bland.

If most of the time chili is too hot for you, I'm going to go for caution and say that this probably will be, too. If you can handle chili from, say, Wendys, then you should be just fine with this, provided you eliminate the hot italian sausage (altogether or replace it with sweet), and be careful with your chili powder levels.

[balance0.livejournal.com]

This seems like the chili you made us @ 1426 Comm Ave when buffalo was on sale.

If so, it was DEEEEEElish. And I learned about putting cocoa powder/sugar in tomatoey things and I stopped getting heartburn so much. If I wanted to remove the beans (cuz Ian doesn't like em) should I sub veg/liquid? Or would you think just removing them would be okay?

[measi.livejournal.com]

This is in fact that chili. All the same except the sausage, ginger, and Indian chili powder. :)

If you remove the beans, I'd recommend subbing with veggies of sort.

[lafemmezilla.livejournal.com]

Yum! This looks good, I've always wanted to try to make chili. Thanks dear!